Three of a kind
by kidishcaresh
Summary: All they wanted was to adopt a cute little girl. They never knew it'd bring this much trouble.
1. ups and downs

**Title: Three of a kind**

**Author: Kidishcaresh**

**Pairing(s): 3x4, 2x5, 1xR**

**Word count: **

**Timeline: post wars.**

**Author notes: This story is credited in a big way to StandingOnTheRoofTops who brainstormed with me until I had the whole layout of the story on paper and could start writing it! I hope she enjoys this first chapter and of course the rest of you do also! Reviews are appreciated and craved very much. Flames will be used as fuel for my family's barbeque. That will be done after I point at you and laugh real maniacally like. Just to warn you hehe.**

**Summary: They never knew adopting a child would bring them so much trouble.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC's.**

**Chapter 1, Ups and downs.**

"Duo, it's only been a month you act like you haven't seen them since we went our ways ten years ago." Wufei sighed shaking his head as Duo all but ran to the door.

"Aren't you excited Wufei? I can't wait to tell them about Mei-mei!" Duo said happily. The door opened as Quatre made to let them come in and pulled Duo into a hug.

Wufei smiled and allowed Quatre to do the same to him. He'd long since accepted that this kind of physical contact was as normal to Quatre as his bowing to someone. It'd been one of those things he still found himself surprised over even ten years after the war.

Five years earlier they'd discovered that contrary to popular belief Quatre was the most physical contact orientated of the five of them. If he had to be honest he would've guessed Duo was what with his need to be among people. It'd surprised him when during one of Relena's parties in their honor after the war Duo had merely bowed when greeting people. Relena had asked him why and he'd saved himself an answer by spotting someone else to talk to. Wufei by then knew Duo well enough to know that this meant that the habit had stemmed from his street life past and had quickly made the excuse that he was tired and chose to rest up before the party a bit before dragging Duo off to the library upstairs and confronting him. He'd been revolted to find out that he bowed rather than shaking hands or hugging because the richer side of L2 always claimed that they carried all kinds of diseases from living on the streets and would get other people sick if they made physical contact.

Wufei had been furious by what those rich bastards had done and he immediately decided to show Duo just how much of a lie that was.

"Hey Wufei!" Duo called again Wufei blinked and smiled.

"Sorry lost in thought." he mumbled joining the other two former pilots inside. Heero and Trowa were already seated and waiting for them to join in. Duo sat down on the couch across from Trowa and smiled at the two. Wufei chuckled. Duo was so nervous he'd nearly gotten sick that morning from worrying. That had been another one of those things Wufei had learned over time for all his confidence and brashness Duo was still insecure about the most unusual things.

"So it's been a while. How have you been doing? I heard you two got together at last." Heero said quietly. Duo smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yeah, he finally got me I guess." the braided boy said laughing.

"It wasn't easy I'll tell you." Wufei said shaking his head.

Not easy in deed; he'd eventually hunted Duo down and shook him while screaming at the braided boy that he loved him. The staff at Preventors had a field day with that one. He barely remembered half of what he had screamed at Duo between the continuous mantra of I-love-you's that he repetitively shouted between each sentence until he lost his voice from it. Duo had grasped the side of a nearby desk and stared at the Chinese man breathing heavily from shouting so loud. After what seemed like forever to the Chinese man he finally spoke up.

"Y-you really…you're serious aren't you?" his eyes were wide with shock as he whispered this. Wufei had said yes, but found no sound coming and then nodded vigorously instead and brought out the box with the ring he'd bought as a means of proof of just how serious he was.

"Ah yes, I remember hearing gossip while visiting HQ about Wufei having lost it and practically manhandling Duo until said individual got the point." Heero said shaking his head.

"How have you been doing these last five years?" Quatre asked smoothly switching subjects.

"Good, real good." Duo said excitedly. Wufei shook his head.

"Just tell them." he said smiling as Duo's eyes lit up.

"We're going to adopt! Julie our adoption agent is currently negotiating with the caretakers. If she can get them to agree we'll be the fathers of a sweet little three year old girl. She sent us these pictures of her. Cute isn't she? Her name is Mei-mei." Duo then said happily showing off the pictures of a cute little three year old Asian girl. The other four smiled at this and each congratulated in their own way the happy couple.

The day wore on in a happy comfortable mood. Dinner was in progress and the five were reminiscing about the past and sharing stories when Wufei's phone rang. He left the room a moment to take the call and the mood dampened already as all knew there was only one person who'd call the Chinese man at this hour.

"I have a mission coming up. I'll be gone for most of the evening and probably well into the night if this goes where I dread to think it might." Wufei said when he returned to the room quickly slipping some Chinese food into a small lunchbox and kissing his lover.

"Be careful Wufei. You come back to me alive and in one piece got it?" Duo murmured before kissing back.

"I'll come back you know that. I can't promise I won't have any injuries, but I'll be careful as always." Wufei told the braided man before heading out.

"I don't know how you always manage this Duo. I'm sure I'd go insane if Trowa still went on mission." Quatre sighed as he was doing the dishes and Duo helped him.

"I try not to think about it…if I do I would go insane…it's hard sometimes but…I just keep telling myself he's a big boy…he won't let anyone get the better of him…he promised me that he'd always come back no matter what. Even if he had to stoop as low as to have Sally carry him all the way home, but he'd be coming back to me for sure. At least that's what he told me…and continues to tell me every time I wake from horrible nightmares. There's little I can do. He's doing it for his own reasons…I gotta respect that…He promised though…once the adoption gets through he'll quit. No more dangerous missions. Une's going to give him a position as instructor. In the mean time I try to keep busy so I won't think about it all." Duo said diligently drying the dishes and putting them away.

He was busy on one of the ornate plates used for the Tarragon Chicken when called for them. Quatre and Duo looked at one another and rushed into the living room. Heero had just pried the phone from an unresponsive Trowa's fingers.

"The Lady." he clarified listening closely. Duo's heart fell and his fingers turned ice cold. He knew before Heero even said it and hadn't missed the tremble in Heero's hands.

"An accident happened…the place Wufei and Sally were investigating exploded…" Heero told Duo and Quatre. The ornate plate shattered in a million pieces as Duo turned white as a sheet. 'Don't say it' ran like an endless chant through his mind.

"DUO!" Heero shouted desperately. Shortly after he'd hung up and turn to clarify what had happened he'd seen Quatre trying to get Duo to respond now Trowa had come around from the call.

"Wha?" Duo croaked hoarsely.

"He's not dead Duo! Not dead! Do you hear me? Wufei's alive he'll be alright!" the Japanese man repeated over and over until Duo's eyes showed that the message had finally gotten through.

"H-how, what?" Duo asked as he let Quatre help him into his coat and guide him to the car.

"Some nutjob with a bomb self detonated and blew the entire place to high hell. Wufei and sally were about to leave when this happened, but a large piece of debris almost crushed Sally if Wufei hadn't shoved her….anyway Une isn't entirely sure how or what, but deduced that Wufei must have pushed Sally out the door while trying to go the other way himself so the debris wouldn't crush them. He saved Sally, but...well Une says he's in the medical wing now getting treated by the best doctors they have. He went in fully conscious and aware of what had just happened." Heero explained trying his best to relay the strange message Une had given him based on what little details she herself had.

By the time they reached the hospital Duo was completely calm and chatted with the nurses trying to find out as much as he could. Quatre hovered close to Duo and chatted right along. Finally Sally came over to them. She sported an assortment of cuts and bruises and was very pale.

"Duo! He's going to be alright given his condition. They just told me. I'm so sorry Duo if he hadn't pushed me at the time then…" she said quietly. Duo shook his head and clumsily comforted her.

"It's not your fault Sally. I'm sure that Wufei would say the same thing. He's going to be okay now. He's in the hospital and the doctors will do all they can to fix him right up." Duo said calmly.

"He's taking it better than expected." Quatre said quietly as he stared at his friend.

"He's taking it well yes, but then he's always taken these kinds of things well as soon as he knew the injured person would be alive." Trowa commented quietly. He himself was still recovering from the shock of the call.

"Injured is better than dead; Injuries can be fixed, but dead is permanent. That's what Duo once told me." Heero said as he joined the other two.

"Mister Maxwell and friends?" the doctor asked as he came out of the surgery room.

"That's me, err us." Duo said getting up and nodding when the doctor held out a hand. The doctor dropped it when he realized the boy would not shake it.

"Good, now I'm sure miss Po already informed you about mister Chang's condition so I'll keep it brief." the doctor began.

"She said he'd be okay after surgery not much more about the injury itself. I gathered it must have been pretty nasty for her to not be able to tell us." Duo said calmly. His face was unnervingly pale, but he didn't appear to have any shock symptoms the doctor observed.

"I see. Well then, when mister Chang was found on the scene of the explosion his arm was in bad condition. We did all we could, but the x-ray showed what I had already feared. His hand and the bigger part of his lower arm were crushed to the point where we had no choice but to amputate the parts we couldn't reconstruct. There is still hope, I know of a doctor who specializes in nerve connected bionic limbs. If mister Chang is tested as positively reacting such a limb would be an excellent option for him. It'd take about nine months to recover, but after that he wouldn't even know the limb was fake. " the doctor said handing Duo a card with a name and number.

"I know this guy. He's good, but busy. I heard that his schedule is booked until the end of the year and reservations for years to come are piling up on his desk." Quatre said peering over Duo's shoulder.

"He'll make time." Duo said pulling out his cell-phone and making a call.

"Hey it's me. Remember that favor you owe me from when we first met? I'm cashing it. You know what it's about and we both know how you know. Make that call." with that Duo hung up and turned back to the doctor.

"Can we see him now?" Duo asked flatly. The doctor nodded and showed Duo the way.

The other three lag behind a bit to give Duo some time with his husband.

"He's taking this well…a bit too well if you ask me." Quatre said frowning.

"Drop it Winner. Just accept that it's how Duo is. He just thought his husband died and found that he's alive. He's simply living in the moment like he always has. He can't waste time on what if. Wufei is alive and going to be as good as can be expected given his injury; why dwell on what could have happened any longer? I have to go. Une wants me to investigate how this lunatic even got the chance to cause this." Heero said before walking off.

"It's not just his way of living…there's something more. We just heard Wufei lost half his arm…how can he not be upset about it? I know I am…" Quatre said. Trowa shook his head and wrapped his arms around his lover.

"Don't pry love, if there is more than Duo will tell us when he's ready to do so. Duo grew up on the streets. I'll bet that a missing arm or leg was normal there and Duo saw it enough that it just doesn't bother him now. It's like Heero said. Wufei is still with us even if he's lost his arm. We just have to forget about that bit of information and be thankful he's still with us. Let Duo do his thing. He's good at that.

**That's a wrap! Let's hope I can finish this story within this year unlike my only other finished work which took nearly three years to complete. R&R **


	2. a new beginning

**Title: **

**Author: Kidishcaresh**

**Pairing(s): **

**Word count: **

**Theme: **

**Timeline: AU**

**Author notes: **

**Summary:**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC's.**

**Chapter 1,**

Duo slipped into the small medical room. The door had no name next to it as per their express request. By the window stood a bed with a table and chair across from it against the other wall. Between the bed and the window stood a rollaway closet/table for the person in the bed, on the other side a heart monitor and a chair. Duo closed his eyes and let the heart monitor reminded him that Wufei was alive, not dead.

"Duo? I…I'm so sorry…" Wufei whispered trying to sit up a little as the other boy entered and closed his eyes.

"It's okay, they told me what happened. You did what you had to. You did nothing wrong so no more sorry. You're alive and that's all that matters." Duo said quietly as he sat down and took Wufei's good hand in his own showering it with kisses.

"But…what if they- What if we can't adopt Mei-mei now? They so stressed the importance of both of us being in good health and now my…well I'm not now…" Wufei murmured looking out the window.

"They are not going to make a fuss about this. Julie already told me once she gets things in motion we just have to sign the papers and go through the obligatory child health care policies and check-ups. They already signed the papers that state we are considered of good physical and mental health. Besides your accident today isn't going to be a problem for you. There's still the option for the prosthetic that they're coming to test you for in a week. Now stop worrying about it and focus on getting better. I got a call today and in three days we'll get to meet our little girl. I'm going to Sally's tonight. If she agrees the doctor will let you leave the hospital under her supervision to see your daughter to be." Duo said pulling Wufei's head gently so the Chinese youth was looking at him once more.

**L4 space port, 13:58**

Julie Mahad Winner stared out the window of the private airplane. She ran her hand through her brown curled hair and sighed softly. In just a few hours she'd be meeting for the first time with the two fathers whom she would be aiding in the adoption of Mei-mei. She until now used her late husband's Winthur name which she had kept after his death. Today during the phone call however she'd slipped up and had to beg Duo one of the two fathers not to let anyone know she was born a Winner child because it'd only cause more trouble for her little brother. The boy seemed really understanding of this; it'd surprised her. Now she was waiting to descend to earth and meet with her little charge for the first time so she could introduce the child to its parents.

Julie smiled. She was nervous about it all and she wasn't even the one adopting the cute little girl. However a lot always rode on an adoption. If the parents weren't right for the child then it would reflect on her skills as an adoption agent. It'd mean a sizable dent in both her ego and her carrier. She was certain of her match though. She'd had a lot of phone and email contact with the braided haired one of the two fathers and from her conversations with him as well as the files she received on their tests she could tell that both men would make excellent parents though. She was a little uncertain about the Chinese one, but decided it was probably his up bring that made him seem reserved and withdrawn.

Three hours later the plane finally landed in China and Julie found herself growing more nervous as she rode the taxi to where the little girl was waiting.

'Oh really now, just because they are your brother's friends…I'm not doing this for them. I'm doing this for that poor little girl.' Julie thought shaking her head. Focused once more she got out of the taxi and walked toward the building.

"Welcome, welcome. Mei-mei is waiting. " the young woman at the desk said once she saw Julie walk in.

"Thank you, can I go meet with her now?" Julie asked. She was used to this kind of overly cheerful and kind behavior from the Chinese Adoption division. The division barely had the space or means to accept the many children that were orphaned during the war and in the nearly seven years since the end of the war the conditions hadn't much improved while more children appeared from everywhere in the country. Trying to place these children in loving homes was near impossible when war left the country in such a state of poverty. Of course the Winner family money had been used to create better living conditions for these children, but there were still too few people employed to handle them all well enough or give them the attention they needed. Julie was glad she'd be able to get this child a loving, stable home.

"This way yes? Meet mei-mei in playroom." one of the orphanage employers said as she led Julie the rest of the way. She quickly left though once Julie entered the almost empty playroom. She smiled seeing the little Chinese three year old sitting there on the couch swinging her legs back and forth. The little girl looked up and smiled with big sad eyes. She said something in a Chinese dialect. Julie frowned a bit then smiled and knelt by the child's side.

"Do you speak English yet Mei-mei?" she asked in Cantonese. Mei-mei nodded and smiled.

"Yes, A-yi taught me." Mei-mei said softly.

"I see that's nice of your auntie. Do you know who I am?" Julie asked kindly.

"You're the lady who's going to take me to ride a big plane n then a space shuttle an then a train and a taxi all so I can go live with my new papa n mama." Mei-mei said quietly.

"Actually you'll have two papas is that okay?" Julie asked smiling.

"I guess so, if they're nice to me and love me." Mei-mei said shyly.

"I'm sure they do. I got a whole letter saying how happy they were that someone wanted to be their daughter and that they can't wait to meet you." Julie said smiling. She pulled out the envelope Duo had sent with pictures and some clothes a letter to the little girl and a small Chinese doll as a gift to the child. Mei-mei watched as the adoption lady opened a big puffed up envelope and brought out two carefully wrapped packages with neat Chinese letters on them. Her name Mei-mei realized as those were the only Chinese characters she recognized at that moment. A letter and a photograph also came out.

"Can you read yet Mei-mei?" Julie asked smiling as the little girl stared at the packages shaking her head no.

"I see. Well then I'll read the letter to you." Julie said clearing her voice before beginning.

_Dear Mei-mei,_

_My name is Duo and if all goes well I'll be one of your daddies. I'm writing you this letter because we thought you might like to know a little about us and your home. Then it won't be so scary when Miss Julie brings you to meet us. I put in a photograph of me and Wufei; your other papa. I'm sure you'll think it's weird that I have such long hair, but I hope you'll come to like me and Wufei because we already like you a lot from the things Miss Julie told us._

_Wufei is a little strict sometimes, but he's really nice and he loves to read books and paint. He says he can't wait to do those things with you and teach you all of the things he knows. He's really smart you know? As for me, well I can't wait to hold you in my arms and show you the cute bedroom we made for you. I made all the furniture and the curtains and such myself. Wufei painted a big Chinese castle and dragons and fairies on the wall. We weren't sure if you'd like dragons or fairies more so we chose for both._

_Our house isn't very big, but it's very warm and homely. I hope you'll feel right at home when you decide to come live with us. I hope we'll get to see you for real soon._

_Lots of love,_

_Your daddies Wufei and Duo._

_PS: The two packages with the letter are also for you._

"Well go on open them." Julie said smiling. Mei-mei looked at her knees for a long time then shook her head. The caretaker lady moved over quietly.

"The child can't open them herself. You open yes?" she said before moving away again. Julie blinked, but opened the first package and smiled fondly. The clothes Duo had made for the little girl were a beautiful silk shirt and pants with a matching jacket and a pair of tiny shoes. All of it looked hand-made. The caretaker lady quickly swooped in again and took the clothes before ushering Mei-mei out of the room quickly. Julie hadn't even had time to blink before the little girl was whisked away.

"Ah I'm sorry for Wong-lu's behavior. She's grown attached to the child and wants very much for this adoption to work out. She tends to try a bit too hard to make everything go perfect. Wong-lu was an orphan herself, but she grew up in one of the traditional raised orphanages here in China. They strove to have the children be very skilled in everything they had time to teach the children; household work, music, dancing, building things, scholary pursuits…the more a child knew and was capable of the better their chances of adoption. With Mei-mei's situation I suppose Wong-lu wants her to be at her very best so the two potential fathers won't decide to not adopt after all." the orphanage manager said watching the elderly woman usher the child out of the room to dress her in the gifted clothes.

"I assure you that I've never been more certain of an adoption going through then I am now." Julie said smiling. She knew why she'd been fighting so hard. This was the little girl Duo himself had called her about. He'd found this link to a site that promoted children in need of a loving family where he found a small piece about a child who lost everything in a huge earthquake and had gone through a long and intense hospital stay before being brought to the orphanage. Julie still remembered the determination Duo had shown when she asked him if he was sure that this was the child they wanted to fight for and reminded him that someone might have already adopted her.

"I am glad to hear that, but sadly I have heard that many times only to be disappointed and have the child return." the manager said as Wong-lu led Mei-mei back in. The jacket's sleeves were a bit too long; Mei-mei's hand went hidden in them.

"You look very pretty Mei-mei." Julie said as she opened the second package and brought out the beautifully crafted oriental doll. Mei-mei didn't speak she could only stare at the doll as Julie held it out. For a long silent time Mei-mei didn't move. Then slowly she took the doll with one hand and brought it to her chest. She stood silently with the doll in one arm staring at her shoe covered little feet. Julie looked at the little girl and noticed her little shoulder shaking. Wong-lu talked softly to the little girl and urged her to speak, but Mei-mei refused which seemed to cause the nervous caretaker lady to his angrily at the child.

"It's okay. She doesn't have to say anything." Julie said putting a hand on Wong-lu's shoulder before kneeling by Mei-mei's side and pulling the girl to her.

"It's overwhelming isn't it? So many nice gifts." she whispered. Mei-mei nodded and allowed the adoption agent to pick her up as she got ready to take the child away.

"Take good care of her Miss Julie. We're counting on you." the manager said quietly.

"I will, also mister Winner called earlier and wanted me to let you know he's heard of your good work and will call through a translator to negotiate a generous donation to your center." Julie said smiling.

**Preventors hospital, 20:39**

"C'mon doc, it'll only be for a few hours! He needs to be there or we won't get the child! If we're not there tomorrow we'll never get her! We've been waiting for a long time! I even arranged for a licensed medic to go along!" Duo pleaded. The doctor sighed and shook his head. The braided haired boy had spent the last three hours trying to convince him and had gone as far as to beg the man on his knees. He was tempted to give in, but his patient's wellbeing came first.

"I'm very sorry." the doctor began. He faltered at the sight of the braided man's desperate look.

"Come on Devin, cut him some slack. He's already been on his knees three times. Let agent dragon go along." Lady Une said as she reached Wufei's room with Sally in tow.

"But Lady, the boy is still recovering! The risks he'd run, he could cause irreparable damage and-" doctor Devin said.

"Calm down Devin. Chang knows not to push himself. Besides I'll be there to make sure he doesn't." Sally said smiling as Duo looked between the two ladies and the doctor with hope filled eyes.

"Fine, but I will not be held accountable for any damage he does to his health AND I want him back here by dawn Wednesday or so help Me." doctor Devin said shaking his head. Duo jumped up and quickly rushed into the room to tell his husband the good news.

**Okay that's the second of a series of short stories. This is one of the stories I might work out later on.**


	3. Trouble with a big fat T

**Title: **

**Author: Kidishcaresh**

**Pairing(s): **

**Word count: **

**Theme: **

**Timeline: AU**

**Author notes: **

**Summary:**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC's.**

**Chapter 3, Trouble with a fat T.**

That Monday Duo and Wufei stood before the adoption center's building. Sally stood beside them to make sure Wufei didn't push himself too much. Duo took a deep breath and looked at his husband who smiled encouragingly despite his own anxiety. The two walked through the sliding doors together and headed to the front desk with Sally.

"Can I help you gentlemen and lady?" the desk lady asked snootily. Duo tensed a bit.

"Yes please, we're the Chang couple? We're here to meet our adoptive daughter and go over the final contracts." Wufei said calmly.

"Ah yes please this way, but your eh friend needs to stay here until after the procedures." the lady said eying Duo with distaste.

"I called earlier. My husband is still recovering from an accident with an exploding building. Miss Po here has to come with as she's the medic assigned to accompany my husband on his short leave between surgeries." Duo said coldly. Wufei simply lifted his sleeve to show her the injured arm then lowered it and remained silent.

"I see, this way then." the lady said decidedly flustered. Sally chuckled at this as she followed with the two boys. The lady led them to a room two floors up and left them there.

"Looks…nice…bright n colorful, I read that's to make the kids feel more safe here." Duo said.

"Safer, makes the kids feel safer." another lady said upon entering.

"Right safer, my bad." Duo mumbled. Wufei frowned and sat down in a chair already tiring due to his current health issues.

"Madam we came here to adopt a child not be educated in proper English. As you were also talk on the phone I'm currently on medical leave and would like for us to get on with the procedures. I tire easily still." Wufei said in a clipped tone that made the lady cringe at his strictness.

"If that is how y-" the lady began only to be cut off by Duo this time.

"We already did our parenting tests and other qualification researches madam. You are here to give us the paperwork to sign and sit in on the first meeting so I'll thank you to do your job instead of your colleague's." Duo said stiffly. The lady wanted to speak again, but this time was cut off when the door opened and Julie walked in.

"Marjorie where is the paperwork they need to sign? I was expecting this to be finished already. Mei-mei wants to meet her new daddies." Julie said giving her colleague a pointed look. Marjorie quickly left the room and Julie sighed.

"Sorry about them. Everyone is fond of our little ones here and they tend to try and frighten the adoptive parents. I'll introduce to you our head of project Mister Tailor. He always comes to the first meeting between child and parents to see how it goes." Julie said when a tall man in a business suit walked in and greeted the three present.

"Why don't you go collect Mei-mei Julie? I'll take care of the gentlemen and lady here and see to it that the paperwork is signed the moment it arrives." Tailor said.

The next ten minutes Duo and Wufei spent taking pictures of the documents to be signed and mailing them to Quatre who instantly replied with the go-ahead for signing. Wufei wrote it off as an old habit that they weren't about to kill. Once they put the last signature on the documents Julie opened the door. She'd just returned. She smiled at the two boys and thanked Mister Tailor for handling the paperwork.

"Well you two are you ready to meet your daughter?" Julie asked watching both parents closely.

Poor Duo was very tense and rigid suddenly. She knew his background made him want to show that he was a very good father for this child. A former streetrat always caused a lot of ruckus in the office and the other girls would've dismissed him instantly on his missing birth certificates only. Julie hadn't she'd just written it down as destroyed during the war. There were no records of his having been in foster care either, but upon hearing his story from Wufei while Duo had gone to the restroom Julie just wrote lost in fire on her evaluations. His psyche reports came back as being the soundest of mind of the two men. Both of course still saw a therapist when something came up, but doctor Harvram claimed that the adoption would be a very good step in their life. The two would heal a great deal caring for their new daughter. Yes she'd added this to the reports too. She'd taken up the search for a child together with Harvram. The man said that a child like Mei-mei would be perfect for them. Her problem would likely be an issue later, but Harvram said that the men would both see it as a challenge and love her all the more for it.

Julie's eyes then went to Wufei. The Chinese young man had been off since arriving here. Of course she'd heard of his having been caught in an exploding building and still recovering, but she could tell he wasn't just physically unwell. In the short time she'd known him Wufei had been the strength in this budding relationship and now it seemed that strength was lost.

Julie was drawn from her musings when the door opened by itself. She'd not noticed zoning out and jumped slightly when the door swung open slowly. Mei-mei peeked into the room through the small opening of the now opened door and Julie smiled.

"Come on in Mei-mei. It's alright. I got a little distracted." Julie said smiling kindly at the girl. Mei-mei nodded and pushed the door open further. She slowly stepped into the room and turned to close the door again.

Wufei looked at the four year old he'd until then only known on paper. She looked almost like in her photo and it made him smile to see she was wearing the clothes Duo had spent many nights on making for her. Her two hands it seemed went hidden in the little sleeves. She had a little backpack on her back that had something sticking out of it. It looked like the doll they'd given her and something made of paper.

"Go on. Go and say hi." Tailor said nudging the little girl onward. Mei-mei slowly walked to the three grownups sitting on the couch. She looked at them for a moment and then walked first to Sally.

"Hi madam, I'm Mei-mei. It's a ples…plas…a ples…it's nice to meet you." she said politely. She stumbled as she tried to recall the words the lady at the orphanage had made her rehearse to say to her new daddies. She finally decided to go with words that she could at least pronounce right. She finished by shaking Sally's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Mei-mei. I'm Sally. I'm a friend of your daddies." Sally said. Mei-mei nodded and moved to Duo repeating her introduction and shaking hands.

"Hi sweetie, I'm Duo I'll be your new daddy from now on." Duo said happily. Mei-mei smiled as she remembered the name and instructions from the orphanage lady.

"Thank you for the presents mister papa sir." She said beaming proudly as she got it all out correctly. Duo smiled.

"You get to say daddy or papa from now on. No mister or sir. That makes me feel al old like a grandpa." Duo said making the four year old child laugh. She then moved on and turned to Wufei. She stared at him meekly. Then she quietly spoke.

"The orphanage mama says you were in the hopsbital. She said you wouldn't be out for a while cuz you got hurt. Will you be okay though?" she asked softly. Wufei felt his chest tighten at the sad look the girl held.

"Yes angel of course I'll be alright. Sally came along to make sure I am okay, but when we go home I will have to go back to the hospital for a few more days." Wufei said smiling at the little girl. Mei-mei smiled back happily at this news and held out her little right hand. Wufei looked at it uncertain.

The silence that fell was heavy. Duo watched the exchange quietly first smiling at their interaction, but when she held up her right hand Duo's smile faded.

"Mei-mei, can you shake with your other hand?" he asked the little girl. Mei-mei turned to him and looked up very sadly. She quietly shook her head. Duo got on his knees beside her and wrapped an arm around her.

"Why can't you?" he asked her softly. Mei-mei remained quiet a moment then hid her face in his neck. He could feel her shaking with the soft sobs that came from her.

"It's okay sweetheart. Papa's not angry with you and neither is Wufei. Please tell us what's wrong." Duo said soothingly. Mei-mei slowly pulled back a bit and hiccupped as she rubbed away her tears with her right hand. Wufei knelt beside them.

"Will you tell us please?" he asked pleadingly. Mei-mei rubbed her eyes one more time then she brought up her left hand. She hesitated a moment then slowly pulled her sleeve up with her right hand to show them. Her left hand and half of her lower arm were missing. Now it was Wufei who hid his face on Duo's shoulder and sobbed soundlessly. Duo smiled sadly. He saw no surgical scars on the stubble that was the end of her little arm. She was born without a hand. Mei-mei looked between her two daddies worriedly. As Wufei slowly got himself together Duo turned his attention to their daughter.

"Do you know why papa Wufei couldn't shake your right hand?" he said softly with a warm smile. Mei-mei shook her head no. Wufei now sat back a bit and pulled up his own sleeve. Mei-mei looked at the bandaged up arm and reached out with her right hand. She gently touched the bandages that covered the end of Wufei's lower arm. She felt tears slip from her eyes again and leaned over slowly. She then placed a soft kiss on the bandaged limb.

"To make it better." she whispered. Something in Wufei snapped and he pulled the little girl close with his good hand then wrapped his other arm around her too. Duo wrapped his arms around the both of them and smiled.

"She'll fit in just fine." Duo said. Sally couldn't help but wipe away a few tears herself and smiled when Julie across the room did the same. Mister Tailor got up and excused himself quietly. He'd given Julie the go-ahead for this family to go home now.

"Well you two. If you're ready to go you can take yo-" Julie began only to be interrupted by the door flying open suddenly. A rather obese woman looking to be in her late 30's adorned with more jewelry then four of Quatre's female business associates combined walked in. She straightened the dress that was obviously not her size and turned her attention to Julie.

"I'm here to take that girl home with me. I'm adopting her." she said as if it was a done deal already.

"Well madam I'm terribly sorry, but these gentlemen here have already signed the legal papers. Mei-mei has just been adopted by them." Julie said calmly.

"No problem, how much? I'll write a check and you can go and pick yourselves another little girl." the lady said turning to the two men.

"Julie thanks for everything. We'll be going now." Wufei said calmly picking Mei-mei up and getting ready to leave.

"You don't understand gentlemen. I insist on adopting this child." the lady said.

"I think you don't understand madam. Our name is under her adoption papers. So take your check and find yourself a treadmill. Sally, let's go. Wufei needs to be at the hospital in two hours and we'd like to celebrate with our daughter." Duo said calmly; he emphasized our very strongly and then pushed past the lady out of the room. Wufei was right behind him and Sally closed ranks.

"Can you believe the nerve of that bitch?" Duo ranted to Quatre as they stood at the hospital entrance while Sally had gone up with Mei-mei to pick up Wufei who'd be coming home now the testing was done and they had to wait for the results.

"Agreed, that was incredibly rude of her. If she contacts you again let me know immediately. My legal team is at your full disposal should she become a problem." Quatre said.

Almost a month passed without any trouble. Wufei's recovery had been slowed considerably when he heard his unique physiology made that his body had already killed off his nerve ends and no prosthetic limb was possible. Mei-mei had been adjusting slowly too. She would soon be going to school and it looked like things were looking up for the new parents. Until one day a month later.

Duo had just come back from taking Mei-mei to school for her first day. When he saw the letter he instantly called the school telling them that only he was allowed to pick up their daughter. He then called Wufei and Quatre linking the calls so they could communicate three-way style.

"That fat bitch is suing us! We're to show up in court in two weeks to plead our case for legal custody!" Duo cried waving the letter around.

"Love calm down. Quatre, we have legal custody why can she do this?" Wufei said first to Duo then to Quatre.

"She can issue a custody case if she believes you'll not be good parents. Don't worry I'm calling my legal team on this and we'll get you two through this case. She can't win!" Quatre said already dialing the number on his other phone.

**Okay that's the second of a series of short stories. This is one of the stories I might work out later on.**


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